Duty of Care Laws Prompts New Kwik-Fit Fleet Service

In the New Year Kwik-Fit Fleet is expanding its range of services with launch of its Vehicle Health Checks – a service it says will help companies comply with duty of care legislation. Specifically, Kwik-Fit Fleet says the checks are being launched to meet fleet customer demand to help them with their occupational road risk management compliance obligations under health and safety legislation. The company is already operating a pilot scheme with two fleet customers ahead of the planned January 2010 roll out of the service for both outright purchase fleets and contract hire and leasing companies.

The Vehicle Health Checks service builds upon Kwik-Fit Fleet’s established Tyre Safety Checks service – the company now performs close to 300,000 of these each year – and inspections on company cars and vans can be carried out in a customer’s car park. Initially, Vehicle Health Checks will be carried out by Kwik-Fit Fleet’s existing 15-strong team of tyre auditors who carry out the Tyre Safety Checks. However, if demand takes off during 2010 a dedicated Vehicle Health Check team will be established.

Checks cover three main separate areas: From the driver’s seat – checks on the operation of instruments, gauges, warning lights, the horn, windscreen wipers and washers, handbrake, air conditioning, heater fan and bonnet catch; outside the vehicle – checks on the operation and condition of all lights including fog and number plate lights, clean and check front windscreen for damage; checks on the condition and operation of front and rear wiper blades; under the bonnet – checks on level of oil, coolant, power steering and brake fluids, check and top up windscreen washer fluid levels, full battery and alternator checks and a check on all hoses and pipes for leaks. Additionally, the new service includes a check on the condition and tread depth of all tyres and a general condition check on the vehicle’s interior and exterior.

Once complete the individual Vehicle Health Check report sheet is signed by the Kwik-Fit Mobile technician and handed to the fleet manager. Oil and windscreen washer fluid levels will be topped up on site. However, if further repair and maintenance work is required, a recommendation will be made to the employer that the vehicle should be taken to a Kwik-Fit centre as soon as possible.

“Companies may think they have a vehicle maintenance policy in place, but it is not being followed by drivers in many cases,” commented Kwik-Fit Fleet operations director Simon Lucas. “With vehicle service intervals typically at 20,000 miles, many company cars and vans are seen by trained technicians only once a year or even less frequently.

“That puts the onus even more on drivers to undertake regular maintenance checks and ensure remedial work is carried out,” Lucas continued. “However, in many cases voluntary checks are not taking place. In piloting the Vehicle Health Checks we have already seen a number of vehicles which have been extremely low on oil and one car ‘dry’ meaning that an expensive engine blow-out was almost certainly around the corner.”

Under duty of care laws, when investigating a road crash the police want answers to three questions: the purpose of the journey; the condition of the vehicle; and the condition of the driver. In assessing the condition of a vehicle, its maintenance history is crucial. Investigators search to discover if any work was actually carried out or should have been carried out on the vehicle immediately prior to the crash.

“The onus is on drivers to identify a potential maintenance problem and to ensure that it is then investigated and rectified,” Lucas added. “However, we know that leaving maintenance checks to drivers is exposing a weakness in companies’ health and safety policies, which is why we are introducing our comprehensive Vehicle Health Check.”

An on-site visit from the Kwik-Fit Mobile technician will cost £20, and then £20 per vehicle inspected. While initially targeted at company cars and vans, Kwik-Fit Fleet comments that the Vehicle Health Check may in the future be extended to privately owned vehicles that are used for business purposes.